Introduction

An agreement effective October 1, 2002, between the United States
and Australia improves Social Security protection for people who spend part
of their working life in both countries. It helps many people who,
without the agreement, would not be eligible for monthly retirement,
disability or survivors benefits under the Social Security system of one
or both countries. It also helps people who would otherwise have to pay
contributions to both countries on the same earnings.

For the United States, the agreement covers Social Security contributions
(including the U.S. Medicare portion) and Social Security retirement,
disability and survivors insurance benefits. It doesn't cover benefits
under the U.S. Medicare program or the Supplemental Security Income (SSI)
program.

For Australia, the agreement covers "Superannuation Guarantee" (SG)
contributions that employers must make to retirement plans for their employees.
(Australia's Social Security program, which is separate from the SG program,
is supported by general tax revenues not covered by the agreement.) Australian
Social Security benefits covered by the agreement include the Social Security
age pension, disability support pension for the severely disabled, pensions
payable to widowed persons and carer payment.

This document covers highlights of the agreement and explains how it
may help you while you work and when you apply
for benefits.

The agreement may help you, your
family and your employer

While you work–– If your employment
is covered by both U.S. Social Security and Australian SG, you and
your employer would normally have to pay contributions to the U.S.
program and your employer would also have to pay SG contributions
for the same work. However, the agreement includes rules that eliminate
double coverage so that contributions are paid to just one country.
These rules are explained in the section titled "Eliminating dual coverage for employment". If you are self-employed, see section "Eliminating dual coverage for self-employment".

When you apply for benefits–– You may have some Social
Security credits in both the United States and Australia but not enough
to be eligible for benefits in one country or the other. The
agreement makes it easier to qualify for benefits by letting you add
together your Social Security credits in both countries. For more details, see
the section on "Monthly benefits".

Eliminating dual coverage for employment

Before the agreement, employers could, under
certain circumstances, be required to pay both United States Social Security
contributions and Australian SG contributions for the same work.

Under the agreement, if you work as an employee in the United States,
you normally will be covered by the United States, and you and your employer
will pay Social Security contributions to the United States and no SG
contributions will be required. If you work as an employee in Australia,
you normally will be covered by Australia and your employer will pay only
Australian SG contributions and neither you nor your employer will have
to pay U.S. Social Security.

On the other hand, if your employer sends you from one country to work
for that employer or an affiliate in the other country for five years
or less, you will continue to be covered by your home country and you
will be exempt from coverage in the other country. For example,
a U.S. citizen sent by a U.S. company to work for that company or an affiliate
in Australia for no more than five years will continue to pay U.S. Social
Security while working there. The U.S. employer will also pay to
U.S. Social Security (the employer's share), but will be exempt from Australian
SG contributions.

Summary of agreement rules

The table below shows whether your work as an
employee is covered under U.S. Social Security or the Australian SG program.
If you are covered under U.S. Social Security, you and your employer must
pay U.S. Social Security contributions. If you are covered under
the Australian SG program, your employer must comply with the SG contribution
requirements. If you are covered under one country's program, "Certificate of coverage for employment" section explains how to get a form from that country that will prove
you are exempt in the other country.

Your employment
status

You are subject only to the
laws of:

You are working in Australia:

For a U.S. employer who:

Sent you to work in Australia for five years or less

U.S.

Sent you to work in Australia for more than five years

Australia

Hired you in Australia

Australia

For a non-U.S. employer

Australia

You are working in the U.S.:

For an employer in Australia who:

Sent you to work in the U.S. for five years or less

Australia

Sent you to work in the U.S. for more than five years

U.S.

Hired you in the U.S.

U.S.

For a non-Australia employer

U.S.

If this table doesn't seem
to describe your employment situation and you are:

NOTE:As the table indicates, a U.S. worker assigned
temporarily to Australia can be covered by U.S. Social Security only if
he or she works for a U.S. employer. A U.S. employer includes
a corporation organized under the laws of the United States or any state,
a partnership if at least two-thirds of the partners are U.S. residents,
an individual who is a resident of the U.S. or a trust if all the trustees
are U.S. residents. The term also includes a foreign affiliate of
a U.S. employer if the U.S. employer has entered into an agreement with
the Internal Revenue Service under section 3121(l) of the Internal
Revenue Code to pay Social Security taxes for U.S. citizens and residents
employed by the affiliate.

Certificate of coverage for employment

A certificate of coverage issued by one country serves as proof of
exemption from Social Security or SG contributions on the same earnings
in the other country.

U.S. certificates

To establish an exemption from Australian Superannuation
Guarantee (SG) contributions, your employer must request a certificate
of coverage (form USA/AUS 1) from the U.S. at this address:

If preferred, the request may be sent by FAX to (410) 966-1861. Please
note this FAX number should only be used to request certificates of coverage.

No special form is required to request a certificate but the request
must be in writing and provide the following information:

Full name of worker;

Date and place of birth;

Citizenship;

Country of worker's permanent residence;

U.S. Social Security number;

Date of hire;

Country of hire;

Name and address of the employer in the U.S. and Australia;
and

Date of transfer and anticipated date of return.

In addition, your employer must indicate if you remain an employee of
the U.S. company while working in Australia or if you become an employee
of the U.S. companys' affiliate in Australia. If you become an employee
of an affiliate, your employer must indicate if the U.S. company has an
agreement with the Internal Revenue Service under section 3121(l)
of the Internal Revenue Code to pay U.S. Social Security taxes for U.S.
citizens and residents employed by the affiliate and, if yes, the effective
date of the agreement.

Your employer can also request a certificate of U.S. coverage for you
over the Internet using a special online request form available at www.socialsecurity.gov/coc. Only an employer can
use the online form to request a certificate of coverage.

When the Social Security Administration issues a certificate of U.S.
coverage, it mails two copies (one for the employer and one for the employee)
to the requesting employer. The employer should retain a copy of
the certificate and present it to the Australian authorities only when
requested to do so.

Australian certificates

To establish your exemption from U.S. Social Security contributions during temporary assignments in the United States, your employer in Australia must request a certificate of coverage (form AUS/USA 1) from the Australian Taxation Office. This can only be done over the Internet using a special online request form that is available at www.ato.gov.au/super.

Certificates of coverage issued by Australia should be retained by the employer in the U.S. in case of an audit by the IRS. No copy should be sent to the IRS unless specifically requested by the IRS.

Eliminating
dual coverage for self-employment

Under U.S. law, self-employed workers are covered by U.S. Social Security if they are U.S. citizens or U.S. resident aliens. The agreement does not have any effect on the coverage of self-employed U.S. residents—they remain covered by U.S. Social Security. Since self-employment is not covered under Australia’s SG program, self-employed U.S. residents (including Australian citizens) do not need any documentation to show that they are exempt from SG contributions.

The agreement exempts self-employed U.S. citizens who reside in Australia from U.S. Social Security coverage. As a result, if you are a self-employed U.S. ­citizen and reside in Australia, you do not have to pay U.S. Social Security contributions on your self-employment income. To document the exemption from the ­payment of U.S. Social Security self-employment contributions, you must get a letter of exemption from the U.S. Social Security Administration by writing to the address in "U.S. certificates section."

Be sure to provide the following information in your letter:

Full name;

Date and place of birth;

Citizenship;

Country of permanent residence;

U.S. Social Security number;

Nature of self-employment activity;

Date the activity began; and

Name and address of your trade or business.

You should attach a photocopy of the exemption letter to the
Schedule SE you file with your U.S. income tax return each year as proof
of the U.S. exemption.

Effective
date of coverage exemption

The certificate of coverage or letter of exemption you receive will show the effective date of your exemption from paying U.S. Social Security contributions or your employer’s exemption from paying Australian SG contributions. Generally, this will be the beginning date of your temporary assignment in the other country, or the beginning date of your self-employment activity there, but no earlier than the effective date of the agreement. To avoid any difficulties, your employer (or you if you are self-employed) should request a certificate or exemption letter as early as possible, preferably before your work in the other country begins.

If you or your employer request a certificate of coverage or exemption letter, you should read the Privacy Act and Paperwork Reduction Act statements at the end of this booklet.

Authority to collect information for a certificate
of coverage

Privacy Act

The Privacy Act requires us to notify you that we
are authorized to collect this information by section 233 of the
Social Security Act. While it is not mandatory for you to furnish
the information to the Social Security Administration (SSA), a
certificate of coverage cannot be issued unless a request has
been received. The information is needed to enable SSA to determine
if work should be covered only under the U.S. Social Security
system in accordance with an international agreement. Without
the certificate, work may be subject to taxation under both the
U.S. and the foreign Social Security systems.

Paperwork Reduction Act Notice

This information collection meets the clearance requirements
of 44 U.S.C. section 3507, as amended by section 2 of the Paperwork
Reduction Act of 1995. You are not required to answer these questions
unless we display a valid Office of Management and Budget (OMB)
control number. We estimate that it will take you about 30 minutes
to read the instructions, gather the necessary facts, and write
down the information to request a certificate of coverage.

Monthly benefits

The following table shows the various types of benefits payable under the U.S. and Australian Social Security systems and briefly describes the eligibility requirements that normally apply for each type of benefit. If you do not meet the normal requirements for these benefits, the agreement may help you to qualify (see section "Benefits from the U.S").

As the table shows, you need a minimum number of work credits to qualify for U.S. benefits. Under U.S. Social Security, you may earn up to four credits each year depending on the amount of your covered earnings. For example, in 2005, you get one credit for each $920 of your annual earnings up to a maximum of four credits for the year.

Under the Australian Social Security system, you must usually have resided in Australia for a minimum length of time to qualify for benefits. Also, most benefits are subject to income and assets tests.

To simplify the information in the table, U.S. work credit requirements
and Australian residence requirements are shown in years.

This table is only a general guide. You can get more specific information
about U.S. benefits here on our web site or at any U.S. Social Security
office or by calling our toll-free number at 1-800-772-1213. You
can get more detailed information about the Australian system by writing
to the Australian address in "For more information" of this document
or by visiting the web site of "Centrelink,"
Australia's social security agency, at www.centrelink.gov.au or by calling Centrelink toll-free
at 1-866-343-3086.

NOTE:Since the benefit provisions of the agreement don't apply to Australia's
Superannuation Guarantee (SG) legislation, benefits arising from SG contributions
are not included in the table.

Monthly benefits and eligibility requirements

Retirement or old-age benefits

United States

Australia
*

Worker-Full
benefit at full retirement
age. Reduced benefit as early as age 62. Required work credits
range from one and one-half to 10 years (10 years if 62 in 1991
or later).

Worker-Age Pension
payable at age 65 for men and age 62 for women as of 2002. (Age
requirement for women will gradually increase to age 65 in 2013.)
Normally requires at least 10 years of residence between age 16
and retirement age, including a continuous period of at least five
years.

Disability benefits

United States

Australia*

Worker-Under
full retirement
age can get benefit if unable to do any substantial gainful
work for at least a year. One and one-half to 10 years credit needed,
depending on age at date of onset. Some recent credits also needed
unless worker is blind.

Worker-Benefit payable
if permanently blind or if disability will prevent work, training
and rehabilitation for at least two years. No minimum residence
requirement if disability occurs while a permanent resident of Australia.
If disability occurs outside Australia, must have at least 10 years
of residence, including a continuous period of at least five years.

Family benefits to
dependents of retired or disabled people

United States

Australia*

Carer payment-No
provision.

Carer payment-Payable
to a partner who provides constant care at home for a person receiving
either an Australian age or disability pension.

Wife-Full
benefit at full retirement
age or at any age if caring for worker's entitled child under
age 16 (or disabled before age 22). Reduced benefit as early as
age 62 if not caring for a child.

Wife-No
provision since July 1995.

Husband-Same
as Wife's.

Husband-No
provision.

Divorced spouse-Full
benefit at full retirement
age. Reduced benefit as early as age 62. Must be unmarried and
have been married to worker for at least 10 years.

Divorced spouse-Parenting
payment if caring for at least one dependent child under age 16.
No minimum residence requirement if couple was residing in Australia
on the date of the divorce. Otherwise, couple must have been Australian
residents and in Australia for at least two years.

Children-If
unmarried, up to age 18 (age 19 if in an elementary or secondary
school full time) or any age if disabled before age 22.

Children-No provision. However, supplement
payable for dependent children under age 16.

Survivors
benefits

United States

Australia*

Widow or widower-Full
benefit at full retirement
age or at any age if caring for the deceased's entitled child
under age 16 (or disabled before age 22). Reduced benefit as early
as age 60 (or age 50 if disabled) if not caring for child. Benefits
may be continued if remarriage occurs after age 60 (or age 50 if
disabled).

Widow or widower-Parenting
payment if caring for at least one dependent child under age 16.
No minimum residence requirement if couple was residing in Australia
on the date of death. Otherwise, widowed person must have been Australian
resident and in Australia for at least two years.

Divorced widow
or widower-Same as widow or widower if marriage lasted
at least 10 years.

Divorced widow
or widower-Same as widow or widower.

Children-Same
as children of retired or disabled worker.

Children-Supplement
payable to person receiving widow or widower benefit for dependent
children under age 16.

Lump-sum death
benefit-A one-time payment not to exceed $255 payable on
the death of an insured worker.

Lump-sum death
benefit-A one-time bereavement payment of 14 times the
difference between a single and couples pension payable to the surviving
partner of a pensioner couple. A bereavement allowance equal to
age pension rate for single person payable for 14 weeks to surviving
partner not entitled to a pension. No minimum residence requirement
if couple was residing in Australia at time of death. Otherwise
surviving partner must have been Australian resident and in Australia
for at least two years.

*Normally, a person must be resident and physically present in Australia
to file a valid claim for Australian Social Security benefits. Benefit
amounts are generally reduced if income or resources exceed specified
levels.

How benefits can be paid

If you have Social Security work credits in
the U.S. and periods of residence in Australia, you may be eligible for
benefits from one or both countries. If you meet all the basic requirements
under one country's system, you will get a regular benefit from that country.
If you do not meet the basic requirements, the agreement may help you
qualify for a benefit as explained below.

Benefits from the U.S—If you do not have enough work credits under
the U.S. system to qualify for regular benefits, you may be able to qualify
for a partial benefit from the U.S. based on both U.S. and Australian
credits. Australian credits for this purpose include your periods
of residence in Australia between age 16 and retirement age during which
you were covered under the SG program or you were employed or self-employed.
To be eligible to have your Australian credits counted, however, you must
have earned at least six credits (generally one and one-half years of
work) under the U.S. system. If you already have enough credits
under the U.S. system to qualify for a benefit, the U.S. cannot count
your Australian credits.

Benefits from Australia—As noted in the table, you must normally be
resident and physically present in Australia to file a valid claim for
Australian benefits. But the agreement lets you file a claim from the
U.S. and certain other countries that have agreements with Australia. Social Security credits from both countries can also be counted, when
necessary, to meet the eligibility requirements for Australian benefits. Unless you are in Australia, you must have at least 12 months of
residence in Australia—at least six months of which must have been continuous—to
be eligible to have your U.S. and Australian credits added together.

How credits get counted

If we need to count your credits under the Australian
system to help you qualify for a U.S. benefit, we will get the necessary
information directly from Australia when you apply for benefits. However,
you will need to provide evidence of the periods when you worked in Australia
or were covered by Australia's SG legislation. The Australian authorities
will provide us with a certification of the periods they can verify. If Australian authorities need to count your U.S. credits to help you
qualify for an Australian benefit, they will get a copy of your U.S. record
directly from the Social Security Administration when you apply for the
Australian benefit.

Computation of U.S. benefit
under the agreement

When a U.S. benefit becomes payable as a result
of counting both U.S. and Australian Social Security credits, an initial
benefit is determined based on your U.S. earnings as if your entire career
had been completed under the U.S. system. This initial benefit is
then reduced to reflect the fact that Australian credits helped to make
the benefit payable. The amount of the reduction will depend on
the number of U.S. credits: the more U.S. credits, the smaller the reduction;
and the fewer U.S. credits, the larger the reduction.

Computation of Australian
benefit under the agreement

If you are outside Australia and your Australian benefit becomes
payable as a result of the agreement, your benefit may be reduced (i.e.,
paid at a proportional rate) if you have less than 25 years of Australian
working life residence. Remember that an Australian benefit may also
be reduced if you have income or assets that exceed the amounts specified
in Australian law.

An Australian pension may affect your U.S. benefit

If you have earned enough work credits in the
U.S. to qualify for a regular Social Security benefit and you also qualify
for an employer-provided pension from Australia, including a pension that
your employer is required to provide under Australia's SG program, the
amount of your U.S. benefit may be reduced. This is a result of
a provision in U.S. law which can affect the way your benefit is figured
if you also receive a pension based on work that was not covered by U.S.
Social Security. Receipt of an Australian Social Security pension,
which is based on residence in Australia rather than work, will not affect
the way your benefit is figured. For more information, call our
toll-free number, 1-800-772-1213, and ask for the factsheet, Windfall Elimination Provision (Publication
No. 05-10045). If you are outside the United States, you may write to
us at the address in "For more information" section.

What you need to know about Medicare

Medicare is the U.S. national health insurance
system for people age 65 or older or who are disabled. Medicare has two
parts: hospital insurance (also called "Part A" Medicare) and medical
insurance (called "Part B" Medicare). You are eligible for free hospital
insurance at age 65 if you have worked long enough under U.S. Social Security
to qualify for a retirement benefit. People born in 1929 or later need
40 credits (about 10 years of covered work) to qualify for retirement
benefits.

Although the agreement between the United States and Australia allows
the Social Security Administration to count your Australian credits to
help you qualify for U.S. retirement, disability or survivor benefits,
the agreement does not cover Medicare benefits. As a result, we
cannot count your credits in Australia to establish entitlement to free
Medicare hospital insurance.

For more information about Medicare, call our toll-free number,
1-800-772-1213, and ask for the booklet, Medicare
(Publication No. 05-10043) or visit Medicare’s website at www.medicare.gov.

Claims for benefits

If you live in the United States and wish to
apply for U.S. or Australian benefits:

If you live in Australia and wish to apply for U.S. or Australian benefits,
contact

The Social Security Division, Veterans Affairs Regional Office, American
Embassy, 1131 Roxas Boulevard, 0930 Manila, Philippines, to file
for U.S. benefits; or

Any Centrelink Customer Service Center.

You can apply with one country and ask to have your application considered
as a claim for benefits from the other country. Information from your
application will then be sent to the other country. Each country
will process the claim under its own laws-counting credits from the other
country when appropriate-and notify you of its decision.

If you have not applied for benefits before, you may need to provide
certain information and documents when you apply. These include the workers'
U.S. Social Security number, proof of age for all claimants, evidence
of the workers' U.S. earnings in the past 24 months, and information
about periods of residence and work in Australia. You may wish to
call the Social Security office before you go there to see if any other
information is needed.

Payment of benefits

Each country pays its own benefit. U.S.
payments are made by the U.S. Department of Treasury each month and cover
benefits for the preceding month. Payments under the Australian
system are made by Centrelink. If you live in Australia, payments
are made every two weeks for the previous two weeks. If you live
outside Australia, payments are made every four weeks for the previous
four weeks.

Absence from U.S. territory

Normally, persons who are not U.S. citizens
may receive U.S. Social Security benefits while outside the U.S. only
if they meet certain requirements. Under the agreement, however,
you may receive benefits as long as you reside in Australia regardless
of your nationality. If you are not a U.S. citizen and live in a
country other than the U.S. or Australia, you may not be able to receive
benefits. The restrictions on U.S. benefits are explained in the
publication, Your Payments While
You Are Outside The United States(Publication No. 05-10137).

Appeals

If you disagree with the decision made on your
claim for benefits under the agreement, contact any U.S. Social Security
office or Australian Centrelink office. The people there can tell
you what you need to do to appeal the decision.

The Australian Social Security authorities will review your appeal if
it affects your rights under the Australian system, while U.S. Social
Security authorities will review your appeal if it affects your rights
under the U.S. system. Since each countrys' decisions are made independently
of the other, a decision by one country on a particular issue may not
always conform with the decision made by the other country on the same
issue.

Authority to collect information for a certificate of coverage

Privacy Act
The Privacy Act requires us to notify you that we are authorized to collect this information by section 233 of the Social Security Act. While it is not mandatory for you to furnish the information to the Social Security Administration, a certificate of coverage cannot be issued unless a request has been received. The information is needed to enable Social Security to determine if work should be covered only under the U.S. Social Security system in accordance with an international agreement. Without the certificate, work may be subject to taxation under both the U.S. and the foreign Social Security systems.

Paperwork Reduction Act Notice
This information collection meets the clearance requirements of 44 U.S.C. section 3507, as amended by section 2 of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. You are not required to answer these questions unless we display a valid Office of Management and Budget control number. We estimate that it will take you about 30 minutes to read the instructions, gather the necessary facts, and write down the information to request a certificate of coverage.

For more information

To file a claim for U.S. or
Australian benefits under the agreement, follow the instructions in "Claims for benefits" section.

To find out more about U.S. Social Security benefits or for information
about a claim for benefits, contact any U.S. Social Security office or
call our toll-free number at 1-800-772-1213. If you live
outside the United States, write to:

Important Information:

Other Government Websites:

Follow:

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Disclaimer

The Social Security Administration (SSA) website contains links to websites not affiliated with the United States government. These may include State and Local governmental agencies, international agencies, and private entities.

SSA cannot attest to the accuracy of information provided by such websites. If we provide a link to such a website, this does not constitute an endorsement by SSA or any of its employees of the information or products presented on the non-SSA website.

Also, such websites are not within our control and may not follow the same privacy, security or accessibility policies. Once you visit such a website, you are subject to the policies of that site.